Google’s Head of Search Spam, Matt Cutts confirms that stock images do not impact search engine rankings.
Does using stock or original images make a difference?
In a word, no. Google’s head of search spam, Matt Cutts, said in a recent video that using stock images from a stock image website has no impact on rankings.
In a series of Q&A sessions where Cutts allowed Google fans to ask any SEO related questions, one viewer asked, “Does using stock photos on your pages have a negative effect on rankings?”
Cutts gave a brief answer and said “no.” During the Q&A, Cutts verified that using stock images or original images has little to no impact on organic Web ranking. The question was a hot topic as users clamoured to ask Google’s brains if stock imagery versus original imagery was of any real importance to Google at all.
Cutss of course didn’t want to blow Google’s top secret SEO strategies and didn’t delve to deep into the workings of the search giant, instead opting to clarify that images may enhance your sites content, which in turn may attract more visitors and more links. But, for the most part, images are currently not a ranking factor for site content, according to Matt Cutts.
